


Stark Intergalactic

by Curious_Teacup



Series: Marvel Cinematic Space Opera (MCSO) [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2020-07-28 09:34:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20061853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Curious_Teacup/pseuds/Curious_Teacup
Summary: Now, let's dive into the political turmoil of Coruscant, where the galaxy's best weapons developer endeavors to keep the Republic one step ahead of the Separatists.Unfortunately, the Separatists are doing an abnormally good job at keeping pace. It can't possibly be Hammer, so who else is behind this recent series of events?





	1. Hyperspace and Subspace

**Author's Note:**

> Of course this was going to happen, eventually. Huge thanks to Sing the Space Electric, by icarus_chained, which was the main inspiration for this series. I wholly agree; there isn't nearly enough Space Opera out there for the MCU, and if we're talking Space Opera, then what's better than Star Wars?
> 
> I would recommend reading Space Electric, but doing so would also reveal a huge spoiler... so you have been warned. I'm also playing fast and loose with Star Wars canon, so that also constitutes a warning of its own. 
> 
> Other than that, I can't stop you; but I do hope that you enjoy the developments of this work, regardless.

Hyperspace was an amazing thing, thought Tony, as he watched the streaks of blue speed past the view port. In terms of galactic advances, it enabled travel between distances previously impossible to cross—second only to the discovery of subspace and the lightspeed informational networks that were subsequently established. 

Communication and transportation—the best things that the galaxy had ever developed, in his opinion. 

He assessed the local subspace network of the ship using a small application of extremis. Holographic displays sprang to life around him, filling in with the latest updates on his work and designs. A gentle data packet from JARVIS indicated a sense of quiet greeting and welcome. 

“_Hello sir. Projected time to arrival is 7 hours, 13 minutes, and 6 seconds. Is there anything that you require? _”

_Until I develop a way to access intergalactic subspace hubs from hyperspace, no._ _Let me know when we’re about to make the jump, though—I’m expecting a call from Obie and this ship is carrying fragile cargo: notably, __me__. Don’t want to miss an ambush just because I happen to be asleep. _

_ “Very well. I’ll be sure to let you know.” _


	2. Pirates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next up, there’s an ambush and Tony watches as the pirates are destroyed by his ship.

Tony sipped at a decanter of corellian ale as he watched the lightshow of exploding pirate vessels from the comfort of his personal view screen. JARVIS had called him away from his work on the latest SI hyperspace drive with news of two things: one, the cluster of foreign hostiles gathering near their projected hyperspace drop point, and two, an ominous warning of new developments from Obie. 

That was a bit worrying, but, business was business and now was the time to relax. What else was having a luxury yacht for?

He contacted JARVIS with a small smile. 

_ Should have really known better than to attack  _ _ me _ _ . I think pirates these days are getting sloppy, don’t you? _

_ “Of the 15 similar incidents in the past standard year, I can safely conclude that the pirates are not getting more sloppy. Perhaps frequent is a better term; the Republic has become rather lax in their policing of the Trielus trade route with the rising threat in more populated lanes—the subsequent rise in piracy should not be surprising.” _

_ Politics.  _ Tony rolled his eyes.  _ At least it’s good for business. _

_ “Indeed. There is an open comm for you now; would you like me to put you in contact with Obadiah Stane?” _

_ Sure, patch me through. Might as well hear what Obie has to say. Think he’ll be interested in the pirates? That was a pretty good demonstration of a miniaturized ion cannon, if I do say so myself.  _

_ “I have the recordings if you wish to share them later.” _

Tony sent him the impression of a mental wink, followed by a kiss. 

_ Love you too, JARVIS.  _

_ “Initiating call…” _


	3. Separatist Shenanigans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next up, a business conversation with Obadiah Stane.

Obadiah’s figure looked strangely distorted in the cool blue tones of a holo-projector. Tony frowned. Surely someone must have invented one that was capable of full color, by now? If not, then maybe that was another project to try in his downtime, once the demand for weaponry and military technology subsided.

“Tony, nice to see you. I see you made the trip safely.”

“Well, within a certain parameter for ‘safe.’ There were a few pirates, but they weren’t really a problem. Should have known better than to attack.”

“You should take threats to your safety more seriously. I’m sure that the Separatists would love nothing more than to eliminate one of the Republic’s most important assets.”

Tony scoffed. 

“They can try. I’ll take their threats more seriously once they start sending something better than _ pirates_.”

“Ah, that’s exactly what I’m here to talk to you about, actually…”

“_Again? _”

“Yes. An isolated convoy was attacked by Separatist forces just a few standard days ago. You were still in hyperspace at the time, but survivors report seeing munificent frigates armed with two, even three ion cannons.”

“Three ion cannons wouldn’t even fit on your typical munificent.”

“Then they clearly weren’t your typical munificent.”

Tony sighed, reclining onto a chair and staring out into the bright inner hub of the galaxy.

“There’s someone on the Separatist side that’s almost as good as me, and I know that it can’t be Hammer. His bots are a disgrace to the name, isn’t that right, JARVIS?”

_ “Indeed.” _

He reached up to run a hand through his hair. 

“We have to get to the bottom of this, and quickly. If the Separatists keeps coming up with innovations at this pace... “ Tony turned back to the holo projector. “Do we at least have anything left to analyze? Wreckage, maybe?”

“They’re still sifting through the debris field. It’s hard to differentiate one ship’s parts from the other, with all the casualties on both sides. I’ll have them send over the salvage as soon as they’re finished. Have you gotten back on planet yet?”

“Almost,” he grinned, watching the greyish atmosphere of Coruscant come into view. The buzzing activity of the galaxy’s largest and fastest subspace network bloomed into awareness in the back of his mind, sprawling and utterly magnificent. “Landing now—gotta meet my entourage soon, so I’ll call you later, yeah?”

“Alright then—and stay safe, Tony. We need you.”


	4. Happy Tidings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...and the story picks up some steam. Tony just can't help getting involved with all these plots and conspiracies, can he?

Happy, Tony’s personal chauffeur while on planet, arrived within minutes to retrieve Tony from the space port. Tony greeted him with a characteristic wink and a smile, then resumed conversation with Jarvis with the judicious application of Extremis.   
__  
“Commander Rhodes has just left the doors of the Senate dome. He is now en route to your personal apartments, with an estimated ETA of 14 minutes and 52 seconds.“  


_ Mm. Let me know when he gets there. Any news that I should know in the meantime? _

A stream of information, courtesy of JARVIS, began scrolling in the headspace that Tony now associated with extremis. He hummed at a few of the numbers, then snapped sharply once the name Hammer came up several times in a consecutive pattern of reports.

_ You have to be kidding me, the idiot’s decided to publically side with the Separatists? _

_ “It appears so,” _ came the response, and Tony glanced at the front of the hover cab, where his chauffeur had raised a not so subtle eyebrow. Granted, Happy was already used to a number of oddities from his employer. Staring out into the window for a few minutes, followed by an abrupt click to punctuate the silence probably didn’t even land the list of top hundred.

Nonetheless Tony had a cover to maintain, and not even Happy was to be trusted with the existence of extremis. 

“Say,” began Tony. “What do you think of this whole Separatist movement? Seems like they’ve started to pick up some real steam, as of late.”

Happy grunted, then swerved to prevent a rogue hovercar from coming too close. JARVIS, upon a quiet reminder from Tony, filed away the license number and began to contact the appropriate authorities. 

“Don’t see much reason behind it myself,” admitted Happy, “—but Coruscant is a part of the Inner Rim. Plenty of scum on the lower levels, but not so much to worry about if you've got a steady source of income and mind your own business.”

Tony hummed, then found himself distracted by another loose data packet from JARVIS.

_ Really? You couldn’t have told me this before? _

He sighed, then gestured at Happy to change course. 

“Looks like we have a situation back at the main offices. Take me there in five minutes and I’ll see about that extra bonus at the end of the year—that clear?”

Happy’s only response was to dial up on the acceleration, and the two peeled away from the steady flow of traffic and towards the towering skyscraper that made up the main offices of Stark Intergalactic. 


	5. Sliced Pepper

At some point, JARVIS must have given an update to Pepper, because she was on the landing pad by the time that Tony hopped off the hovercar and instructed Happy to wait until his return. 

“Heard about the slicer,” he said, by way of greeting. “JARVIS called as soon as it hit the records; mind updating me on the situation?”

She nodded, then began leading the way deeper into the main building. 

“It’s been at least 34 hours since security caught onto his trail. The suspect, Broerik Puckmal, has been working under the Human Resources division for the past five years—we’re not entirely sure why he decided to act now.”

“Any dirt in his records?” asked Tony. “If he managed to get off planet, then he’s probably got some sort of history—either that or faked records, and our security sweeps should have been able to filter that out before the first round of applications.”

“Nothing,” admitted Pepper, with a mystified cast to her expression. “There was nothing in his past to indicate any kind of criminal history. For all we know, Broerik Puckmal was a perfectly ordinary Coruscanti citizen. He left behind a wife and two daughters. Just took the data and ran.”

“Well, keep an eye on them, just to see if he makes any attempt at contact.” 

The two reached a door, cordoned off with a holographic projection placed by SI security. Tony walked through without pausing; the biometric scanners installed in the building were programmed to let him past any obstacle, and evidently, there was a crime scene to analyze. 

He contacted JARVIS, warmed up extremis, and got ready to do some work.

* * *

In the end, Tony spent three hours going over the digital footprints of the slicer—running through probabilities and simulations with JARVIS until Pepper came back to deliver a cup of caf.

This particular office wasn’t really anything special. A modular, easily fabricated cubicle with several monitors, a desk, and a chair. Other than the dimmed, bluish hue of the recessed lighting and a small family holo, there was barely any sign of personality. Just the faintest imprint of the life that had once inhabited these walls. 

Tony swiveled around in the chair to accept the caf that Pepper placed on the table, carelessly ignoring her irritation that he was probably contaminating an important artifact of the scene. 

Physical evidence wasn’t worth a damn in a situation like this. SI security had already swept through the office, with only a few genetic samples and a small, bloodstained napkin to show for their troubles. 

Tony was here for the digital investigation, and if he had a few benefits that the rest of the world didn’t know, it was only that much more important to keep the offices clear while he worked. If he wanted to sit, then he’d take whatever chair suited him; it wasn’t like he didn’t own everything in the building anyways.

“He used a HK-19436 model data chip to transfer the information,” noted Tony. “I’m having JARVIS track down the manufacturer and distributors, but they’re still common enough that it won’t be much of a lead.”

“Anything else?”

“I looked through the directory of copied files, tried to see there were any common factors. Most of the data were employee profiles. He didn’t get far enough in the system to steal anything important from R&D—just a few research notes on the MK-Ultron project; maybe a fragment or two of scrapped code.”

He frowned, then went through the digital mainframe a third time with extremis.

“You sure that this guy never expressed any interest in R&D? The level of expertise here is pretty high; I don’t know how many HR guys have the skills to set up an automated self destruct on the hard drive, but I’m willing to bet that it’s pretty low.”

Pepper nodded, setting down her tablet on the desk. 

“We’ve been asking around. His family hasn’t mentioned any strange behavior leading up to the theft, and the only significant piece of info that we got from the records was video of him arriving late to work.” 

She tapped at the screen and let the surveillance footage play. Tony took notice of the timestamp and then leaned forwards to scrutinize the small, hunched over figure on the screen. 

He watched it once, then twice—scrubbing through every pixel with extremis for a third time, just to be thorough. Then he paused, freezing on a single frame of Puckmal lifting his personal identification badge to pass through security. 

“His eyes. What color are they in the personnel files?”

Pepper blinked, then leaned closer to scrutinize the frozen still. 

“Definitely not that blue… I’ll call HR and get the data, but I think that’s a lead.”

She picked her tablet back up, along with the cup of empty caf. When she spoke next, her tone was professional and cool—every bit the personal assistant to one of the most powerful men in the galaxy.

“I think we’ve kept you long enough, Mr. Stark. I’ll bring this new information to security and keep you updated on any new developments.” She peered at him over the tablet, already drafting a message for security. 

“I was told that you’d only just arrived back on planet?”

“Yeah,” said Tony, getting off the chair and stretching a little in the confined space of the cubicle. “I was actually headed to my apartments by the time I got the news. I’ve been keeping Rhodey waiting, you know?”

“And your driver,” pointed out Pepper, with a faint smile. “Mr. Hogan was invited into the visitor’s lounge when it became clear that you would be occupied for a while. I’ll also notify him of your departure, so you can head directly to the landing pad.”

Tony nodded, and then made way for the door before Pepper turned back to give him a hug. 

“It is good to see you back on Coruscant,” she added, with a smile. “With everything that’s been going on lately…” 

Pepper shook her head, then cast a quick glance outside the door. 

“Stay safe,” she remarked. “—and don’t try and start any more diplomatic incidents while you’re out with Rhodey, alright?”


End file.
